1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a snowmobile used for traveling on a snow field and having an engine as a drive source.
2. Description of the Background Art
Snowmobiles have been used for many years, and the basic operation thereof is well known. However, a variety of proposals have been made as to an improved layout of components, such as the arrangement of an air cleaner and a muffler around the engine. Examples of such proposals are provided in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-364468, and in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-228288.
In general terms, it is desirable to provide an arrangement of components in which the center of gravity of the snowmobile is in the center of the vehicle body, and is generally low with respect to overall vehicle height. A snowmobile is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-364468 (see especially FIG. 3 thereof), the snowmobile having an engine, a steering post, and a steering handle bar. In this disclosure, the engine is disposed on the front side of the steering post 26. However, in order to relocate the engine, which is a heavy component, to a more rearward position within the vehicle in consideration of the need to regulate the position of the center of gravity, the presence of the steering post hampers the engine from being displaced rearwards. Therefore, the layout disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-364468 is inconvenient because it is difficult to regulate the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle.
An alternative snowmobile component layout is described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-228288. In this layout, a generator, a recoil starter and a muffler are disposed on a lateral side (the right side) of the engine (see especially paragraph No. 19 thereof).
In recent years, for the purposes of reducing undesired emissions and enhancing the silencing performance and the like, the muffler has been increased in size and weight. When the muffler 21 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-228288 is increased in size and weight, it becomes difficult to maintain the left-right weight balance, which may adversely affect the turning performance of the snowmobile.